To establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed SenateMr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Moran, …
Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Moran, …
Passed Senate (inferred from es version)
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access within the VA with 15 voting members and 4 ex officio members. The committee will advise the Secretary on improving accessibility for veterans with disabilities across all VA information, services, benefits, facilities, and procurement. It must meet at least twice yearly and submit biennial reports with recommendations. The committee terminates after 10 years. The bill also requires abolishing or consolidating one inactive VA advisory committee before establishing the new one.
Who Benefits and How
- Veterans with disabilities benefit from dedicated advocacy and oversight of VA accessibility across mobility, hearing, visual, and cognitive impairments.
- Disability advocacy organizations gain formal voice in VA policy through 5 VSO representative seats.
- Section 508 and architectural accessibility experts gain influence through committee membership and required consultation.
- Congress gains regular reports on VA accessibility compliance and recommendations for legislative action.
- VA employees with disabilities benefit from improved workplace accessibility focus.
Who Bears the Burden and How
- VA must fund and staff the committee, provide requested information, and respond to biennial reports within 90 days.
- VA facilities and IT programs face increased scrutiny and potential remediation requirements based on committee recommendations.
- Community Care providers may face accessibility assessments as committee scope includes Veterans Community Care Program facilities.
- Inactive VA advisory committees face abolishment or consolidation to make room for new committee.
Key Provisions
- 15 voting members: 4 veterans with disabilities, 4 accessibility experts, 2 VA employees (Section 508 and Architectural Accessibility), 5 VSO representatives
- 4 ex officio members: Under Secretaries for Health/Benefits/Memorial Affairs plus Access Board chair
- Two-year member terms with possible reappointment
- Must meet at least twice yearly
- Biennial reports to Congress on access barriers, compliance, and recommendations
- Covers information accessibility, services, benefits, facilities, and procurement
- Applies to VA facilities AND Community Care provider facilities
- 10-year sunset provision
- Must abolish/consolidate one inactive advisory committee first
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a 15-member Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access within VA to advise on improving accessibility for individuals with disabilities across VA information, services, facilities, and procurement.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Formalize disability accessibility oversight at VA through dedicated advisory committee with diverse stakeholder representation"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "advisory_committee"
- → Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology